Kiddushin, Daf Lammed Heh, Part 4
Introduction
Today s section begins to deal with the few negative commandments that do not apply to women. This was dealt with in the mishnah, but since it s been a while, I am reproducing it here:
And all negative commandments, whether time-bound or not time-bound, both men and women are obligated, except for the prohibition against rounding [the corners of the head], and the prohibition against marring [the corner of the beard], and the prohibition [for a priest] to become impure through contact with the dead.
חוץ מבל תקיף ובל תשחית כו’:
בשלמא בל תטמא למתים דכתיב (ויקרא כא, א) אמור אל הכהנים בני אהרן בני אהרן ולא בנות אהרן
Except for the prohibition against rounding [the corners of the head], and the prohibition against marring [the corner of the beard] etc.
The [exception] for defiling oneself for the dead makes sense because it is written: Speak to the priests the sons of Aaron (Leviticus 21:1): the sons of Aaron, but not the daughters of Aaron.
The Torah refers to the sons of Aaron when transmitting the prohibition of defiling oneself to take care of the dead. Therefore, this mitzvah applies only to males, not to females.
אלא בל תקיף ובל תשחית מנלן דכתיב (ויקרא יט, כז) לא תקיפו פאת ראשכם ולא תשחית את פאת זקנך כל שישנו בהשחתה ישנו בהקפה והני נשי הואיל ולא איתנהו בהשחתה ליתנהו בהקפה
But how do we know [that she is exempt from] the prohibition against rounding [etc.] and marring [etc.]? Because it is written, You shall not round the corner of your heads, neither shall you mar the corners of your beard (Leviticus 19:27): whoever is included in [the prohibition of] marring is included in [that of] rounding; but women, since they are not subject to [the prohibition of] marring, are not subject to [that of] rounding.
The Talmud now turns to the prohibitions of marring and rounding both of which refer to parts of the head. This source teaches that since they are not subject to the prohibition of marring, they are not subject to the prohibition of rounding. Below, we will address how we know they are not subject to the prohibition of marring.
ומנלן דלא איתנהו בהשחתה
איבעית אימא סברא דהא לא אית להו זקן
ואיבעית אימא קרא דאמר קרא לא תקיפו פאת ראשכם ולא תשחית את פאת זקנך מדשני קרא בדיבוריה דא"כ ניכתוב רחמנא פאת זקנכם מאי זקנך זקנך ולא זקן אשתך
And how do we know that they are not subject to [the prohibition against] marring?
If you want, you can say from logic, for they have no beard.
Or if you want you can say from a verse, for the verse says, You shall not round the corner of your (plural) heads, neither shall you mar the corner of your (sing.) beard since Scripture changed its speech, for otherwise the Torah should have written, the corner of your beards ; why, your (sing.) beard ? [To teach], your beard, but not your wife’s beard.
There are two ways to exempt women from the prohibition of marring the corner of their beards. First, women do not normally have beards. Second, the verse uses the singular in reference to the beard. This changing of the person teaches that men are prohibited but not women.
ולא והתניא זקן אשה והסריס שהעלו שער הרי הן כזקן לכל דבריהם
מאי לאו להשחתה
Are they not? But was it not taught: The beard of a woman and that of a eunuch which grew hair, are like a [man’s] beard in all matters. Does this not mean in respect to marring?
The Talmud now cites a baraita that says that the beard that grows on a woman s face or on a eunuch s face counts as a beard in all matters. This seems to contradict the mishnah which says women are not obligated in matters related to the beard.
אמר אביי להשחתה לא מצית אמרת דיליף פאת פאת מבני אהרן מה להלן נשים פטורות אף כאן נשים פטורות
Abaye said: You cannot say that in respect to marring, for we learn corner corner from the sons of Aaron: just as there, women are exempt; so here too, women are exempt.
Abaye says that you cannot read the baraita as being in respect to marring one s beard because the word corner appears here and in the mitzvoth given to priests (Leviticus 21:5). Since there it refers only to men, so too here in the commandment not to mar one s beard issued to all Israelites it refers only to men.
ואי סבירא לן דכי כתב בני אהרן אכוליה ענינא כתיב נישתוק קרא מיניה ותיתי בק"ו ואנא אמינא ומה כהנים שריבה בהם הכתוב מצות יתירות בני אהרן ולא בנות אהרן ישראל לא כ"ש
But if we hold that the sons of Aaron is written with reference to the whole section, let the verse be silent from it, and it could be derived through a kal vehomer. For I can argue: If [of] priests, upon whom Scripture imposes additional commandments, [we say] the sons of Aaron but not the daughters of Aaron, how much more so of Israelites!
The Talmud raises a difficulty. Leviticus 21 is directed at sons of Aaron, and therefore we would assume that the prohibition against marring one s beard applies only to the males. And from here we could use kal vehomer argument to derive that the same is true for Israelites, because priests have more commandments in general than Israelites. So then why do we need the gezerah shavah comparing the word corner in both contexts?
אי לאו ג"ש הוה אמינא הפסק הענין
Were it not for the gezerah shavah I would have thought that the connection is broken.
The gezerah shavah is necessary to exempt women from the prohibition of marring one s beard, for without it I would have thought that the opening words sons of Aaron applies only to the first few halakhot which deal with impurity, and not all of the mitzvoth in the chapter.
השתא נמי נימא הפסיק הענין
ואי משום ג"ש מיבעי ליה לכדתניא (ויקרא כא, ה) לא יגלחו יכול גילחו במספריים יהיה חייב ת"ל (ויקרא יט, כז) לא תשחית יכול לקטו במלקט וברהיטני יהא חייב ת"ל לא יגלחו הא כיצד גילוח שיש בה השחתה הוי אומר זה תער
Then now too let us say that the connection is broken; and as for the gezerah shavah, that is required for what was taught: They shall not shave (Leviticus 21:5): I might think that if he shaves it with scissors, he is liable, Scripture says, You shall not mar (Leviticus 19:27). I might think that if he plucks it [his hair] out with pincers or a remover, he is liable, Scripture says: They shall not shave. How then is it meant? Shaving which involves marring. Say that this refers to a razor.
The Talmud now asks why not say that indeed sons of Aaron refers only to the first commandments in Leviticus 21 and that the comparison of the verses (the gezerah shavah) is there to teach what instruments are included in the prohibition to shave only a razor and not scissors, pincers or some sort of remover.
This returns us to our original question how do we know that women are exempt from this prohibition?
א"כ ניכתוב קרא את שבזקנך מאי פאת זקנך ש"מ תרתי
If so, let the verse write, That which is of your beard ? Why say the corner of your beard ? Learn from this both.
The Talmud concludes that the Torah uses the word corner when it does not really need to do so in order to teach two comparisons: 1) both prohibitions refer to the same shaving implements; 2) women are excluded from the prohibition.